1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sports balls. More particularly, the present invention relates to a soccer ball and its method of construction which has a floating bladder covered by an intermediate wound vulcanized web.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide a sports ball such as a soccer ball with an inner bladder having a winding of threads forming a layer thereon, an outer layer being either affixed to the winding layer or separately provided with the bladder, and winding being inserted and affixed at a valve stem to a presewn outer layer such as leather. Additional layers of material such as cotton cloth or sponge rubber may be provided within the outer layer to impart softness to the ball and maintain roundness. It is known to provide such a ball with an adhesive coated winding over the bladder which attaches to the outer side of the bladder to control roundness and impart strength to the ball. The adhesive coated winding, when vulcanized in a mold forms a web adhered to the bladder to improve strength and roundness of the bladder once inflated within the cover. It would be desirable to provide a soccer ball having such a web wherein the bladder is free to float within the web to improve roundness when the ball is subjected to forces during sports play.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,375, issued Mar. 4, 1980, to Uruba et al., describes a game ball having an inner bladder and a layer of yarn wound thereabout. The yarn layer is formed by a first strand of synthetic material and a second strand of neutral material. As these strands are being simultaneously wound on the inner bladder, an adhesive is applied to the strand of synthetic material. A cover is then applied to form the sports ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,373, to Dehnert et al. describes a soccer ball having a cover of alternating star-shaped and hexagonal panels stitched at their adjacent edges. The soccer ball includes an inflatable, floating bladder comprising two-ply butyl within a thread-formed carcass.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,772,545 and 6,390,941 B1 to Ou describe a sports ball and manufacturing method which makes use of a strengthened nylon thread, overlapping each other to form a web layer which permanently embraces and adheres to the bladder. The web layer supports the ball cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,662 issued Mar. 21, 2000 to Chan describes a method of making a machine stitched soccer ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,979 B1, issued Apr. 24, 2001, to Chan, describes an inflatable machine-stitched sports ball and the method of manufacturing the same.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a machine stitched soccer ball with floating bladder solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The present invention is an improved sports or soccer ball having a floating bladder and the method of manufacturing same. The soccer ball comprises a spherical rubber bladder having a valve hole into which a valve stem is introduced for inflating the bladder, and an outer cover of machine stitched multiple hexagonal and pentagonal pieces to form an outer cover for inserting the bladder therein. In between the bladder and the outer cover is a vulcanized web of thread and adhesive.
During the manufacturing process, a suitable elastic yarn is precoated with a silicon-releasing chemical, dipped in a suitable adhesive, and wound tightly around the inflated bladder causing the formation of a web-like material which firmly embraces the bladder. This web-like material supports the outer panel coating and resists stress applied to the ball. The outer surface of the bladder is also coated with the silicon-releasing chemical before winding. The resulting ball is placed in a vulcanizing mold and heated to about 150 degrees Centigrade, enabling the silicon-releasing chemical to melt while the adhesive-thread web is cured to form a discrete integral element. Foam and cloth layers may also be introduced. The silicon released forms a layer separating the inner bladder from the web, forming an independent intermediary layer, allowing the bladder to be suspended or maintained in a floating status inside the ball relative to the web. Because of the floating state of the bladder, stress applied to the ball is evenly absorbed by all the various layers, and, consequently, the ball may be built relatively light while remaining durable and soft for heading, easily withstanding impacts and remaining perfectly round for true directional flight.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a machine stitched soccer ball and its method of making having a floating bladder.
It is another object of the invention to provide a soccer ball as above having a supporting elastic web located between the bladder and the cover for supporting the cover during use.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a soccer ball as above which remains round during play.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a soccer ball as above having a release agent between the elastic web and the bladder providing floating characteristics to the bladder within the web.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method of producing a soccer ball as above by forming the elastic web with thread which has been dipped in a release agent and an adhesive which, upon vulcanization on the bladder within a molds forms a web with a the bladder floating relative thereto by means of the release agent present between the web and the bladder.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.